Get a grip

Is it my imagination or have all the anti-4X4 protestors been suspiciously quiet this winter? Especially during the last few weeks, when icy weather has paralysed parts of Britain.

Just to refresh your memory, while we were all being told that global warming is currently microwaving the planet and bringing, among other things, tropical heat and equatorial sunshine to our little part of northern Europe (where we'll soon be able to grow bananas, allegedly), the snow and ice arrived.

Tropical Blighty! Try telling that to millions of Brits who had to dig cars out of their snow-covered driveways then negotiate streets that were covered in potentially lethal packed snow and ice earlier this month.

How did two-wheel-drive buses and coaches cope in these atrocious sub-zero conditions? Even where I live in the soft, comparatively mild south of England many of them didn't. They simply failed to venture out on to the highways. As a result, kids didn't get to school. To hell with the fact that many teenagers are studying for their GCSEs or A levels at the minute and couldn't afford to miss days in class.

Train and airline operators struggled, too. And even if you did manage to pay through the nose to use a mode of mass transit that actually ran on time during the worst of the wintry weather, how was the experience for you?

Meanwhile, many of those evil, planet destroying, all-wheel-drive motor cars driven by irresponsible drivers solely responsible for imminent Armageddon (yes, I exaggerate) were enjoying heated seats in their warm, dry, draught-free personalised mobility machines, the ground clearance of their vehicles, their chunky tyres and their sophisticated drive systems enabling them to drive over, rather than dig out, the snow in their driveways.

Because such machines have the enormous safety benefit of traction to all four rather than just two wheels, they are considerably more secure in snow and ice than two-wheel-drive buses, coaches and conventional cars. That makes life safer for the 'selfish' SUV mum and dad in the front and the 'spoiled' kids on the back seats, but also safer for other road users, cyclists and pedestrians.

I mean, would a pedestrian on an icy pavement or a cyclist struggling in a slippery cycle lane rather share space with a less-than-steady 2WD vehicle or a more stable and secure 4WD, which, at great expense, was designed to behave itself impeccably - and safely - on tricky surfaces like those we've seen in the UK in recent weeks? There's no doubt about it. Owners of all-wheel-drive cars weren't guilty of piloting socially unacceptable vehicles for much of February. They were forward planners who had the appropriate automotive tools for the conditions.

Got a complaint about parents who take their children to school in SUVs? Still complaining after those parents delivered their kids to their daily place of learning while public transport and even some two-wheel-drive cars largely failed to work as efficiently and safely? Even if a 4WD SUV protects you and your family from a nasty accident once every few years, or even once in a lifetime, that's enough justification for owning one.

So who makes the best, most capable and efficient examples? In short, Land Rover, followed by the comparatively new kid on the SUV block, Nissan, which deserves to inherit the runners-up spot from Jeep since the American firm has gone off the boil a bit lately.

In the last 12 months I've driven in heavy snow and ice inside the Arctic Circle, in remote frozen parts of Asia and in the mountains of far-eastern Europe. I've also been caught out by the white stuff in Britain and other parts of western Europe dozens of times over the past year. And having driven just about every four-wheel-drive machine on the market, here's what I recommend you go for whether your budget's large or small.

If money's no object and up to £60,000 isn't out of the question, a Range Rover, Mercedes ML, Toyota Land Cruiser or Volvo XC 90 are just about unbeatable in my experience. Honestly, every one of the above-mentioned cars has helped saved my life when I've been exposed to the most extreme Arctic (or desert) conditions.

Not too far behind are more affordable offerings costing perhaps half as much, with the Land Rover Discovery being the clear winner in this price range, but the Nissan Pathfinder and ugly Jeep Commander are holding their own, too.

And buyers with around £20,000 to spend aren't short of options, either. Again, Land Rover walks it with its new Freelander, but the Kia Sorento is a surprisingly fine piece of AWD kit, as is the Nissan X-Trail and Honda CR-V.

Although you only get what you pay for, all-wheel Suzukis, Daihatsus, Fiats and Tatas can be had for not much more than 10 grand, although the latter is to be avoided because in the Tata Safari, motorists will discover what is possibly the worst car on sale in Britain today.

For those on a limited budget and, sensibly, looking at used cars, the X-Trail is the first choice, the Sorento second.

If funds are seriously limited, take a punt on the old, boxy Jeep Cherokee (yours for a grand or two), which has a drink problem and several build-quality issues but, with a few quid and lots of TLC spent on it, is a hugely capable and sure-footed beast. I should know. My 10-year-old 4.0-litre Cherokee, now worth next to nothing on the second-hand market, is still going strong.

But you don't need to own a Jeep or a square Jeep-like vehicle to enjoy four-wheel-drive. Audi Quattro saloon cars are blessed with this technology, as are some Subarus, Fords, Mitsubishis and Skodas. What these companies learn about all-wheel-drive safety in their World Rally Championship activities is transferred into the cars they put in the showrooms.

Ignore these suggestions if you like. But if you do, you'll be less safe on the road in winter.

Mike Rutherford is a freelance writer, broadcaster and pro-car activist. Currently writing weekly columns for The Daily Telegraph and Auto Express, and monthly columns for The Independent and Motoring & Leisure, he also presents Pulling Power on ITV.

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